Is my rope still safe???!!!

I have a climbing rope i used about 3 times for top roping and then in sat in my parents shed for about 9 years when i moved and went to college and now im back starting to climb again. Is the rope still safe to use? the only elements it was exposed to was seasonal temperature changes in colorado no water gets into the shed. ??
Thanks for any input. ...... Also my quickdraws too have 10 of the same condition as rope ???

id go buy a new one... if yer gonna lead on it for sure buy a new one

$100 is worth your life.

In all likelihood, your rope is fine. You have no way to prove its fine without breaking it, though, so many will just replace it.

I might be just fine. It might not. It is life safety equipment.

$100 vs might or might not kill you... It is your call. I would replace it.

I have an old rope that I use to have people practice lead climbing. I top rope them while they drag up the old rope and practice clipping into the quick draws.
Also, if you look at the wear and tear of gym ropes I am sure yours is better than theirs. So, if you are willing to take the risk, top roping would be a way to mitigate the chance of it breaking. So, if you can't afford the price of a new rope right now, find small climbs and stick to top rope.

Visually inspect the rope, if the sheath and mantle seem OK, then I'd have no problem using it to top-rope or as a rigging rope.

Thanks for the quick replies. Ill order a new one I was leaning that way anyways just wanted other opinions.

9+ yrs old. Mr. Clean doesn't know what he's talking about. Drop the coin and get some cheap insurance. Isn't your life worth $100?

Nylon degrads due to exposure to oxygen. As part of that break down it loses energy absorption capacity (i.e. not as elastic). Years ago Pit Shubert took similar ropes and did some tests on them:

theuiaa.org/upload_area/fil…

They held a single fall unless loaded over an edge. I would probably not use the rope for leading but TRs and rappelling.

It's fine.

Allen Sanderson wrote:Nylon degrads due to exposure to oxygen.

Here's an interesting paper that looked at the time-Temp rate of mechanical property degradation of unmodified nylon. The very end of the paper states that ~20% drop in yield strenth could be expected after 13 yrs at 25 degrees Celcius (calculated figures). However, I'm almost positive that today's nylon is modified for greater temperature stability. Anybody have any more current data?

http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA048030

Allen Sanderson wrote:Nylon degrads due to exposure to oxygen. As part of that break down it loses energy absorption capacity (i.e. not as elastic). Years ago Pit Shubert took similar ropes and did some tests on them: theuiaa.org/upload_area/fil… They held a single fall unless loaded over an edge. I would probably not use the rope for leading but TRs and rappelling.

I'd skip the rappel part, but top rope use seems OK if rope is still supple,flexible, and not worn. NO leads on it for sure though.

zach-4 wrote:I have a climbing rope i used about 3 times for top roping and then in sat in my parents shed for about 9 years when i moved and went to college and now im back starting to climb again. Is the rope still safe to use? the only elements it was exposed to was seasonal temperature changes in colorado no water gets into the shed. ?? Thanks for any input.

As long as the rope has been stored properly and hasn't been in contact with any chemicals it is still fine. I don't know what brand of rope it is, but Beal has on their website that a rope is fine for up to 15 years bealplanet.com/sport/anglai…

I know sterling recommends a maximum of 10 years sterlingrope.com/faq so you might be over that limit, but you can be very certain that manufacture recommendations are going to be on the conservitive side of things.

It certainly wouldn't be a bad idea to buy a new rope, but you don't need to run out and buy it today either. If I were you I'd use the rope for a bit while I looked for a good sale, then retire it to toproping use when I found something for a good price.

It's fine for TR. Get a new one if you plan too lead.

Buy new.

Allen Sanderson wrote:Nylon degrads due to exposure to oxygen. As part of that break down it loses energy absorption capacity (i.e. not as elastic). Years ago Pit Shubert took similar ropes and did some tests on them: theuiaa.org/upload_area/fil… They held a single fall unless loaded over an edge. I would probably not use the rope for leading but TRs and rappelling.

This is a good article, but I got a very different message from it:

Paragraph 2 says "Ageing caused only by storage can almost be neglected compared with ageing during use."

And the article didn't say that the ropes held only a single fall. Indeed, "...not even 25-year-old ropes and one 30-year-old rope broke in tests in accordance with the standard; they still held at least one drop"

Sounds to me like your rope is fine. Unless I suspected that someone dropped some battery acid on it, I'd lead on it.

Norse Force wrote:$100 is worth your life.

+1. I'd say just replace it.

I would just be to paranoid to enjoy myself, I would just buy a new one.

D.Buffum wrote: Does rappelling put more force on a rope than TR? It wouldn't seem like it should.

To ensure this thread goes to 15 pages, I will point out that top-roping actually puts 2x the force on the rope and anchor than rapping.

Ben Sachs wrote: To ensure this thread goes to 15 pages, I will point out that top-roping actually puts 2x the force on the rope and anchor than rapping.

Not to mention the rope is running over the rock vs static.

OP: Use it for a gym/TR rope and buy yourself something nice for leading.